PRWeek Mentoring Project: Core Competencies for Female Comms Leaders

Management skills

• Leadership. Creating a sense of direction. Balancing control and inspiration with delegation. Building the right team.
• People management. Empowering/motivating staff and peers, building confidence, handling conflict. Managing ‘up’ as well as ‘down’.
• Managing men/women - attuning to work styles.
• Financial management. Managing budgets, understanding financial context of comms work.
• Project management/business strategy
• Creating and presenting an argument/influencing skills
• Building client confidence
• Time management

Individual competencies

• Presentation skills
• Networking
• Developing judgement/instinct
• Developing presence
• Creativity
• Listening
• Negotiating pay rises and promotions
• Career planning
• Confidence
• Self-awareness and self-control

Personal/wellbeing

• Stress management: resilience, understanding how to manage politics and negativity.
• Preparing for, going on and returning to work following maternity leave
• Flexible working - making it work
• Maintaining personal relationships